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Hey guys...i've had a good many people ask me if this sereies had been cancled and NO! I do plan on continuing it, but i've been stuck on these past two chapters for so long (ever since i began them honestly). I believe i've said it in comments before, but this story started out as a way for me to have a form of carthasis and in many cases when i have done that out of stories it ends in the motif that 'hey, the stories don't run away' or something to that extent lol. But either way...read and enjoy it!

Life had lately been moving by at a quick pace. Jake and Lucas found themselves back in school, and with less classes together. They had only managed to get two classes together this semester, but at least their schedules seemed similar--they had worked that out together. They did share three of the same classes; one of those being psychology.

"I don't know why you two took my class again,"

"Don't flatter yourself," Lucas said with a smile.

"We didn't know you'd be teaching it again," Jake told Mason who was talking with them.

"Well...that killed my confidence," Mason replied, though it was an obvious lie. When signing up for classes the teacher's name was displayed.

"Well, would it help if we said we took another psychology class because our teacher last time didn't teach us anything and we wanted to make sure that we got it all down,"

"Yes...but this is psych 302," Mason said, "I won't censor things just because you two are here,"

Jake chuckled, "Good,"

"But really...why did you two take another class, surely your general education requirements have been met...and even then my class was only worth G.E credit for introduction to psychology," Mason said, wondering if the college had changed their methods. But surely they would've sent him an e-mail telling him his secondary level psychology class had been turned into a general educations requirement.

"Well, we really did think that your class was fun," Jake replied to the tiger.

"And..." Lucas interjected and took a moment, "Psychology of sex was the only class that we could both take that would fit our schedules..."

Mason chuckled, that answered a few questions.

"But it's kinky too," Lucas interjected, watching how both Mason and his mate jumped in embarrassment at these words. Jake gave him a death glare and he knew the bear would want him to apologize for that later.

"Lucas...I have to head off, I got Evolutionary physiology," Jake said, taking the quickest out he could get.

"What? That isn't a semester class?" Lucas asked.

"No," Jake replied, it was one of only four yearlong classes.

"Oh, Jake...could you do me a favor...since you're heading to Kaden's room anyway?" Mason asked.

"Sure," Jake replied.

"Tell him that I'm going to pick up some milk on the way home," Mason said, feeling a bit strange about asking the bear to relay the message.

"OK," Jake said with a small chortle. "Hey...I'll see you at the car?"

Lucas nodded, "Yeah," he in reply and watched as his mate moved off. He looked back at Mason and smiled, "So, how were your holidays?"

"Not bad, me and Kaden went to his family's for Christmas eve and then trekked back home so we could get ready to host for my own family. We flew them in and it was really quite a nice time," Mason said with a clear smile. "How about your own?"

Lucas recounted the events and talked with Mason until his class came in. Mason was a good friend and they really clicked. The tiger was easy to talk to and it wasn't like the tiger was even his teacher. He was about to move off when Mason stopped him.

"Hey, how about you and Jake come over this Friday? I could fix a meal and...as Kaden would add, what not..." Mason suggested with a smile.

"Umm...sure, sounds good," Lucas said.

"Cool, make sure you read the first chapter by Thursday," Mason said, throwing in a teacher-like bit of information with his friendlier demeanor used with Lucas.

Lucas smiled and moved off, running up the stairs and to his next class. It was basic kinesiology, which was an easy subject for him. In fact, all he did in the class was work on a research project he'd started with one of his professors. It was an interesting one in which he would follow the progress of a virus through a body--trace its effects and then see at which stages which types of therapy, medicine, and other healing precautions worked best. It was over all a cool project and he couldn't wait to sink his teeth into it.

Outside his class Jake was waiting on him, the bear's ears twitching as each person walked out. He smiled over at him, "What are you doing?"

"Waiting on you," Jake said eagerly.

"Thanks Big-Guy," Lucas said with a smile. They both moved away from one another knowing that they had the urge to grab one another's paw. Sure they were a couple but they had never done anything to show that at the college. Of course they must've given off some type of vibe because both Mason and Kaden had figured it out, but they were a different case.

"So...how was your first day back?" Jake asked as they approached the car.

"Not bad...I'm already ready for break," Lucas said and chuckled, "Is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all," Jake said with a laugh. He started the car and as soon as they were out on the road Lucas leaned over and kissed him.

"Hey, Kaden and Mason asked us over for supper on Friday,"

Jake looked over a bit surprised, "Really?"

"Yeah...but I think it was mostly me--you know, they would've felt awkward if they just invited me because you would be left out; might think that they're getting sultry with me and you would be left out,"

"Yes, because I would hate to be left out of a threesome,"

"Well, if you feel like joining it'll be a foursome," Lucas said and placed a paw on Jake's thigh, "So...what do you say Big-guy?"

Jake felt Lucas squeeze his thigh and let out a happy and playful growl that made him choke out a sputtering laugh. He looked over at Lucas, "You're terrible,"

Lucas laughed too, "What? I think it was good for on the spot,"

Jake shook his head, "I'm telling Mason you said that,"

"Teacher's pet," Lucas said and rolled his eyes. The drive home went by with them talking about each other's classes and then quickly taking care of their assignments. The first day yielded its usual 'you don't have to do any of this' type work, but they did it for the sake of work. Lucas told Jake mostly about the new project he had the chance to work on, and Jake supported it fully. He smiled at the bear, "It may take up a bit of time..."

"That's OK...you can handle it I'm sure," Jake replied with a smile.

"It should be fun, I'm looking forward to it," Lucas said.

"I have a small project of my own but it doesn't sound as fun as yours," Jake said with a smile. "I'm working with Dr. Regra on growing bacteria so we can harvest proteins...boring! Compared to yours at least,"

Lucas laughed, "Well, you get more free time than I do with that type stuff,"

Jake sighed, "But it's so boring. Oh well...yours seems to be a bit of a number cruncher, so I wouldn't like it too much,"

Lucas chuckled, "Yeah, and I guess as long as we do something we like then that it all that matters..."

"Poetic," Jake replied and put away his computer. "Well...we're done for the day...now what?"

"Well..." Lucas said and thought for a few moments. They really didn't have anything to do; they'd finished their work, nothing else was really important. "Wanna have sex?" he asked with a small grin.

Jake looked over at Lucas, who just shrugged his shoulders--a resounding laugh came from his chest though and his mate joined in; though they both knew they would probably end up doing just that.

_____

The week passed with a small blur; the back to school tone of life made everything seem to pass with a bit of dullness. That wasn't to say life was dull, but for the moment both found it hard to become enthralled by their work.

The only really interesting thing that happened was a pop quiz in Mason's class, which wasn't even really tough. The snow was beginning to come in heavy on Friday evening as Jake and Lucas made their way to Mason's and Kaden's. They pulled into the gravel walkway and got out. As they did Lucas looked back, "Jake, don't forget the vegetables,"

"Oh...yeah," Jake said and ran back, almost slipping on a frozen pebble but catching himself on the car luckily. He got the dish out and moved back to Lucas much more carefully, but still moving swiftly not wanting to keep the dish in the cold for too long. Both of them had felt obliged to bring something, and Jake decided to put his cooking to test--and use their friends as guinea pigs.

They were being speckled with snow. It was coming down adequately fast. The weatherman had said they'd get an inch possibly--to add onto the four they already had. As they walked up the steps the door opened and Kaden smiled at them.

Lucas chuckled, "OK...stalker teacher..."

Kaden's smile didn't falter, "I was actually going to put these upstairs..." he said, showing a small basket of laundry. "Would you like to come in?" he asked, still holding the door.

"Oh, yeah...sorry, we're letting out the heat," Lucas said and quickly moved in with Jake. Inside the house was filled with the smell of cooking food.

"Oh...you two didn't need to bring anything," Kaden said, looking in the bear's paws.

"We felt obliged to," Jake replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "If it makes you feel better I've never made this dish before and it may be disgusting,"

"Yes, I feel much better now," Kaden said with a roll of his eyes. "I'll be right back...I just need to put these away," he said and moved quickly up the stairs. He looked back quickly, "Just take that into the kitchen Jake...Mason's in there right now,"

Jake nodded and followed the amazing smells to their origin in the kitchen, where two pots were on the stove, the oven's light was showing the food inside, and the dull hum of the microwave told him that there was quite a lot going on. He moved over behind Mason and made sure the tiger wasn't doing anything dangerous before he attempted to scare him. "Hey,"

Mason jumped nearly a foot in the air and almost attempted to climb the counter. He looked back and scowled, "What if I had been cutting something?"

"I made sure you weren't doing anything..." Jake said. "I came in and you were peeling potatoes and last time I checked rinsing those potatoes in the sink is hardly a dangerous activity,"

Mason frowned at the bear, "It's not good manners to sneak up on someone,"

"Ha...sorry, force of habit," Jake replied with a smile.

Mason noticed the dish in the bear's paws and smiled, "Oh, what'd you bring?"

"Umm...asparagus dish Lucas's father taught me over Christmas break, but when I say taught me he gave me the recipe and I haven't tried it before..."

"Well, Kaden loves asparagus, so that'll go over well, and I didn't have time to make any type of vegetables up so that's very good...you can set it right over there," Mason replied and returned quickly to the potatoes.

"Ok, what can I do to help?" Jake asked

Mason jerked his head towards the stove, "Stir the sauce if you don't mind...then...umm, in the top right hand cabinet there will be some basil and in a bag you'll see some mastic,"

Jake stirred the sauce and moved to the cabinet. "Umm, the tulas?? That's the only basil type you have,"

"Yeah, sorry...holy basil," Mason replied as he salt and peppered the potatoes. "The mastic i--"

"Got it," Jake replied before the tiger could continue. "What are you going to use this for though; I've only heard about it..."

"Put a small piece of it in the sauce along with the basil...umm, a small piece about this size," Mason said and held a paw up while making a very small circle. "And just a dash...use your good judgment,"

Jake did as the tiger said and stirred still the mastic dissolved in the sauce and it took on a sweeter smell which made his mouth water. A small color change came with it, taking on a bit of a pale yellow. Jake leaned over and stirred a nearby pot also, seeing it was about to boil over, "I'm going to turn this other dish down...is that OK?"

"Yeah," Mason said and moved over next to Jake, "Move back a bit," he said and began to put the potatoes into the dish Jake had just turned down.

"Huh...what is it?"

"Family recipe," Mason replied with a smile, "It doesn't have a name...Ma' just made it up one day and we all loved it,"

Jake nodded and smiled at the kitchen; it felt good to be in it with someone else again. He didn't mind cooking alone, but there was something about cooking with someone else made the entire experience better. It was hard to place, but it was there. Mason was impressed with how much he'd learned over the break, and even learned a few things from him. They both began to talk rapidly while fixing the meal and Jake felt a smile on his muzzle at the experience.

In the living room Lucas sat with Kaden and they were currently talking about the school's change to the organic chemistry syllabus. Kaden thought it was good that they spent more time on proteins, but Lucas disagreed.

"But it is important to know proteins," Kaden said.

"While that is entirely true, a protein is a three dimensional object...it can't be put well what the change does. Form and function are so tightly intertwined that if you really want to do that class well you should be expecting fully diagramed protein molecules along with change in peptide bond length," Lucas argued.

"So...you agree,"

"Yes, but no," Lucas replied.

"I can't tell you how annoying it is when I get a student who doesn't understand how proteins have changed in class...and organic chem is one of the important foundation classes, and I wholly support a firmer background in protein,"

"What do you do with proteins?"

Kaden frowned at Lucas, "Think..."

"Ugh...still a teacher," Lucas said and his brows furrowed for a moment. "Well, there are the proteins our body uses and the changes as their used...like muscles I guess...or with bacteria and how we can cultivate them by feeding them and watching as simple monosaccharaides become the spinal cord, per se, of an advanced protein molecule...like that?"

Kaden nodded, "Exactly...that's just the brief bits. Ask Jake about the essay I've assigned, it specifically deals with the life, history and craniofacial evolution in vertebrates--which I ask my students to focus on how protein use coevolved with them,"

Lucas shook his head, "that sounds like a pain,"

"It is...I get a little bit of hate mail sometimes because of it...it's a broad topic," Kaden replied with a chuckle.

"But my original point that was while a firm foundation on protein chemistry is important, there are broader concepts to cover in organic chem 101, and I think singling in on one subject will deprive too many of what they might need later on..."

"Like?"

"Umm...focusing a bit more on IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry,"

"That's simple though,"

"Yes, it is, and that is my point. You can't cut down on the simple stuff. It is better to go and use a simple, easy lesson plan that fully incorporates all the objectives of the course--I'm not saying don't try to focus...but the thing is what they are doing now is taking away too much focus from nomenclature,"

Kaden smiled and began to dig around for a book. He pulled out a copy of Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins; a Guide to Organic Chemistry and flipped through it. He then showed the wolf a reaction, "See,"

"Yeah...but," Lucas said and in turn flipped a few pages over and shoved it back into Kaden's paws, "See that?"

It was a detailed 3D drawing of the reactants then the products, "That is the more important of those features. I fully heartedly agree that understanding how a protein reacts is vital, but the form and function dogma still stands,"

Kaden chuckled and put the book away, "How about we agree to disagree?"

"Yeah...we both have good points..." Lucas replied with a smile.

Kaden nodded and leaned back into his chair, "So, how was your break?"

"All too short," Lucas replied with a smile. "How about yourself?"

"Same!" Kaden said with a laugh. "We went up to see my family...they're up in Klarkin,"

"Oh, across the border," Lucas said and cocked his head, "Where are you from?"

"Klarkin," Kaden replied easily. "I grew up there and went to Rebenvillle for college...then I meet Mason...then we both became professors..."

"Cool," Lucas said with chuckle, "So...what was it like...growing up there?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well...I mean, a different country," Lucas said.

"I was practically on the border," Kaden replied with a laugh.

"Yeah...but..." Lucas said and shrugged his shoulders.

"It was good," Kaden said. "It was what makes any growing up experience good. I had a family that loved me and that's all I could ask for,"

Lucas smiled and nodded, "I know what you mean,"

"But..." Kaden said with a bit of a sly look to his eyes, "it was different a bit. We sometimes had guys come across the border--pups and cubs my age and we'd all play together. There were times when they suspected it but we kept a low proflile. Of course the border police did catch us and they were so furious it wasn't even funny--we all thought we'd be off to prison or something,"

"Why were they angry?"

"They thought we were mules for drugs...bad time to be a young pup then,"

"What? How old were you?"

"Umm....seven at the time," Kaden said with a smile. "We were young enough that they didn't care. It was terrible actually--they thought we had been being smuggled across the border or something...took our parents all bringing birth certificates to prove we were theirs,"

Lucas laughed and shook his head, "Yeah...you had a different childhood I'd say,"

Kaden smiled and nodded, "There were definitely some fun times. We all learned our lessons though...because my parents grounded me for four months..."

"Ouch..."

"Yeah, no TV, no books besides school work, forced to do dishes, cut the yard, trim bushes, and anything else they thought was suitable punishment,"

"Wow, sounds terrible,"

Kaden smiled and nodded, "It built character," he said and puffed out his chest a bit.

"Yes, I'm sure," Lucas said with a laugh.

"What about you? Any cruel things you did?" Kaden asked with a smile. "I find it hard to believe I was the only terrible child out there,"

"I let out all the air in the tires of an eighteen wheeler once," Lucas said with a smile.

"How did you do that?" Kaden asked, interested and wondering what exactly he'd done.

"Well...they were building a house across the street and...well...they left nails around..."

"Oh no," Kaden said and shook his head.

"No, no...it's not as bad as your probably thinking," Lucas replied. "I unscrewed the parts and then pushed in on the valve and just let all the air out..."

"For all eighteen? No one noticed or saw you?"

"No...I guess I blended in," Lucas replied with a laugh. "But I coud hear the yells from inside when they found out...set the house building back by a week almost,"

"What did they do to you?"

"Nothing...they never found out," Lucas said with a grin.

"What?" Kaden asked, a bit disbelieving. "You got away with that? How young were you?"

"Eight...and no I didn't get away...my dad knew I did it somehow...and wow it was terrible. He made me clean out the sand filter of our pool...which held two hundred pounds of sand...digging it out and putting fresh sand, whih came out of my allowance, in. Then I had to do everything he needed for the next month, not to mention he quizzed me on my homework and if I didn't do as well as he wanted me to he'd rip my answers and tell me do it right the next time,"

Kaden laughed, "Ok, so I'm not the only one with evil parents,"

Lucas laughed and exchanged childhood tales with the bear, both laughing and explaining how they were punished. It was a fun time and they both found themselves immersed in tales of stupid events and how they were punished. Both of them realized how much trouble they had gotten in and how similar their punishments were.

"Supper time!" Mason yelled from the kitchen.

"Oh, we'd better get moving," Kaden said and stood up, "I'm starving,"

"Me too," Lucas said with a smile.

"Luckily we both have mates who are good cooks," Kaden said and laughed as he moved to the kitchen.

Lucas trailed behind the bear and couldn't help but feel proud of his mate. In the kitchen the dishes were set on the table and everything smelt amazing. They all sat down at the table, Mason sitting next to his mate and Lucas taking his seat next to Jake. He looked over at Mason, "Was he any help?"

"A lot..." Mason replied with a smile, "Your father must be a great cook,"

Lucas felt his smile beam a bit more, "Yeah, he is,"

Mason nodded, "OK...well....me and Mason usually say a blessing before we eat, is that OK with you two?"

Lucas nodded simply and saw Jake nod a bit more hesitantly. He bowed his head and listened to the blessing, saying a amen when it was done.

"OK, now dig in..." Mason said with a chuckle.

Jake smiled a little and began to go dish out some of the asparagus dish he'd made up and hoped it wouldn't be terrible. Lucas got some too. Jake couldn't help but warn Kaden, who was putting a large heap of it on his plate, "I've never tried that before...it may not be good,"

Mason chuckled, "I'm sure it's fine Jake,"

Kaden bit into the tip of one of the vegetables and nodded, "Yeah, but...next time I'd recommend going easier on the...umm, what cheese did you use?"

"Feta,"

"Little bit less of that and it'd be perfect," Kaden said.

"Don't get insulted," Mason interjected. "Kaden is a world class critic...on everything,"

Kaden laughed a little and shook his head, "Just because I know everything,"

Lucas shook his head, "Uh-huh, like what's best for the organic classes,"

"Oh," Jake said, "Can you believe those idiots?"

Lucas smiled and highfived his mate. He looked over at Kaden, "See?"

Kaden scowled, "You don't support the new change?"

"Not at all," Jake replied. "Do you have any say in it?"

"Well, it's since it is organic chemistry the biology department does have some say in it--be it a sliver if there ever was such a thing. I've thought that an emphasis on proteins would be good. I didn't propose it but I don't oppose it," Kaden replied, frowning a bit.

"What are you guys talking about--remember...I'm a social science," Mason said.

"Well," Kaden began, "The organic chemistry class wants to emphasize on protein reactions a bit more,"

"Well...that's not so bad is it?" Mason asked, not knowing.

"Yeah, it's fine if you want to just make sure that everyone in the class is wanting a biomedical major," Lucas said.

"Well...it is organic chemistry, right?" Mason asked.

They all spent the next thirty minutes trying to explain to Mason why which side offered a better curriculum. At the end though the decision was his. Mason sighed and shook his head, "I'm going to side with Kaden..."

"Oh, well that's not fair," Jake said with a roll of his eyes. Truth be told, he'd sided with Lucas not only because he agreed but because Lucas was his mate.

"Well....I don't want to end up sleeping on the couch," Mason said with a laugh. A howl ran through the house and Mason looked over at Kaden.

"I got it," Kaden said and quickly stood up.

Jake and Lucas exchanged looks. They didn't know what was going on--it sounded a lot like a strong wind, but it was in the house. There was a slamming sound and a bit of rattling before Kaden came back and sat down. He had flakes of snow on him--in fact, he was painted with it. Jake cocked his head, "Is everything OK?"

"I think church will be canceled," Kaden said, looking over at Mason.

"Aww....well, is it bad? I was supposed to be a greeter this Sunday..."

"You go to church?" Lucas inquired. He'd gone quite a bit himself, but lately hadn't attended. Ever since coming to Kirson and meeting Jake he didn't really take the time to find another. Not to mention he wasn't sure what his being mated to Jake meant either. Still, it made him curious--Kaden and Mason were mates so what did that mean?

"Yes," Kaden said and looked over at Jake and Lucas.

"You two should come by sometime," Mason said with a smile. He couldn't help but notice Jake shift a little, "That is...unless you don't want to,"

"Sounds like it could be cool..." Lucas said, missing the experience of a church. His own church back home had been kind and his father was a deacon. They hadn't really talked about what him being gay meant--but those thoughts were beginning to come back to him. He looked over at his mate, "What do you say Jake?"

Jake shrugged his shoulders and looked down at his plate, "Ehnhhn," he mumbled out--something between an impassive yes and a no.

Mason smiled, Jake was obviously uncomfortable with the shift. He was about to change the conversation when Lucas pushed it forward.

"That's not an answer...I think it'd be cool, but I don't want to go if you don't,"

Jake knew he had to make actual words now. He continued to stare down at his plate. His own experience in church was probably somewhere between decent and good. He'd really hoped to just avoid this with Lucas forever, but at the same time that was a big deal. Or was it? Jake sighed, "I don't know..."

"Well, we don't want to make you uncomfortable," Mason quickly said, not wanting to scare Jake away or really make the bear uncomfortable.

Jake looked over, "Well...I mean, I was religious and all that, it's not uncomfortable to anyone but me..."

Lucas cocked his head, "Well, what's the problem?"

Jake looked over at his mate. He really didn't want to answer that question. It was one he just wanted to avoid forever. It was the reason he felt uncomfortable, different, and why he was always doubting his motives and actions. He didn't want to screw his relationship with Lucas up, but a truthful answer might do that. He took in a breath, "Us..." he said in a low tone.

Mason noticed his mate's ears twitch.

"What do you mean 'us' Jake?" Lucas asked, confused.

"I mean....people aren't accepting of 'fags' and 'homos' last time I checked," Jake said, wanting to just sink away, or be somewhere else.

"It's not all like that," Kaden interjected.

"I know...but you have to ask...if there is truth to that area then are people like me and Lucas...like you and Mason, doing something right? I mean...it's a sin isn't it?" Jake asked. "It's the acceptance of the act that has me so confused..."

"Well, you can't control who you lov--" Kaden was saying.

"Well, that's not my point. What if we're wrong? It's like lying, you can't just accept it; if it is wrong then you can't magically make it right just because you 'really want it to be' right or something like that," Jake retorted. He'd been a spiritual person, maybe he still was, but the issue had driven him to despair and he eventually gave up on it. He'd met Lucas and just fell for his mate--Kaden was right in that respect, you can't choose who steals your heart.

Mason looked over at his mate, "He's thought through it..."

Jake sighed, "I've thought through it, about it, on it, with it--and I've not once, ever, got an answer on it,"

"Well...what do you mean?"

"I think...every wrong act, a sin, is equal to another, right? Well, then why am I so much more wrong than the guy who divorced his wife and remarried....that's not right? They should be just as condemned as me, but that's not right either. Are we both just wrong and damned, and therefore there are only a few people truly right? Or maybe venial sin and mortal sins are on the money and in which case...yeah...we're screwed if we're wrong. What are you supposed to think? If I'm wrong then I should stop being with Lucas plain and simple, but I can't,"

Lucas felt his ears twitch. He'd never thought about whether Jake had religious issues with their mating. To him it'd been simple in that he loved his mate and that was that. Unlike Jake, he'd never really thoguth about religion and his love life--at least, not in this respect. "But..."

"But?" Jake asked with a scoff and rolled his eyes. "But? What if? Why not? How so? What about this or that? What does this or that mean? Every stupid answer gives you another stupid question to deal with. I mean in one passage I'm an abomination and in the other you can't look at your uncle naked, eat the fat off meat, letting a recently birthed into the church, and lots of other stuff--what's the point to all that? What if I'm still a good person? Well, I know that doesn't matter...a lot of good people will be in Hell right?"

Mason frowned, Jake was obviously good at the rules of the scriptures. Not a bad thing, but the bear was so obviously confused and angry with it all too.

"Why should I even read a book that was written mainly by murderers?" Jake asked with a scoff. He knew that was a terrible argument, and it was more just his emotions.

"It's not right that I should have to be alone. I want to have someone too," Jake growled. His eyes strayed over to his mate, "Everything just confuses me about it," he said with a growl. He quickly looked down at the plate. He hadn't meant to growl or let his emotions get the best of him, though that is exactly what happened.

Lucas's ears flattened against his head, his mate didn't usually sound so upset or frustrated about many issues. They'd talked ethics, a small bit of metaphysics, mostly with light philosophy but he'd never asked Jake about religion. And in the south, where Jake was from, he knew how it was sometimes. To think that his mate had never told him, or even opened up to him was a bit saddening. Of course, Jake probably didn't want him to be as confused as he felt.

"Jake...do you want to talk about it?" Mason asked, ending the awkward silence.

Jake stared down at his plate and sighed. Honestly he hadn't really talked about it with anyone. Wasn't it simple? Kaden and Mason would think that homosexuality wasn't bad, for the obvious reason that they were themselves homosexual. "Why? I mean, won't you guys just say what makes it more comfortable for you?"

"That is hardly what we do," Kaden said, speaking for the first time. "Our answer to the entire thing could be wrong..."

Jake looked over, "Then what is it?" he asked. He didn't want to sound arrogant, but what could they possibly know or believe that he hadn't thought of? What magical idea did they have that allowed them to be so happy with it all?

"Me and Kaden," Mason said with a slight tone of understanding of Jake's position, "Is that we may very well be wrong. For a long time we did what you did; said that if others could remarry then why couldn't we be mates? We just pointed out something wrong with others and diverted away from ourselves...but now I think we've just come to a different solution,"

Kaden nodded, "We may be wrong," he said and sighed, "We accept that...I mean, hey, it's not unfeasible. But we both know that we love each other and that we didn't really have a choice in that matter. I loved Mason and he loved me--and there is nothing wrong with that. We are mates, and we live together--we can only hope that if we're wrong that we can be forgiven,"

Jake didn't roll his eyes, though he'd expected himself to. That wasn't an answer; it wasn't really even an idea. He looked away and at a nearby coaster. All they had said was pretty words dressed up to make them feel better--so he told himself.

"It sucks not really having the answer Jake, and maybe we're just ignoring the answer, but....we know that we love each other and will spend our lives with one another. I love Kaden and he loves me, so we live our lives the best we can and try our best to not be a hindrance,"

"Hardly an answer," Jake said with a sigh. He looked over and shook his head, "I'm sorry...I don't mean to spit in the face of your offer...it'd be a pleasure to go..."

"We're not forcing you," Mason said.

Jake rolled his eyes, "I'll sleep on it," he said. How was he not being forced? It was so obvious he had a problem with it, and so obvious that he wanted answers that he couldn't find.

"Well," Kaden began and nodded towards the exit of the kitchen, "Speaking of which; you two are staying here tonight...looks like it's a blizzard out there,"

"What?" Jake asked, "But it's only an inch,"

"Much more like a blizzard out there," Kaden said with a sigh. "What do we all say to going and checking the weather channel?"

They all nodded, but as soon as Jake walked by a window he saw how fast the snow was going. He guessed one door had blown open or something. The TV soon came to life and Mason turned it to the weather channel. The badger on screen talked about how the blizzard had snuck up on them from the west and that everyone was advised to stay inside and the usual stuff.

"OK," Mason said, turning off the TV, "You two are definitely staying..."

Lucas smiled, "Sleep over,"

Kaden chuckled, "I'll got get the guest bedroom ready,"

____

"Are you OK?"

"I'm fine," Jake replied gruffly.

Lucas shook his head and moved closer to his mate, "What's wrong? You're really tense ever since that conversation,"

Jake turned his back to Lucas, "I don't want to talk about it Lucas,"

"Jake....come-on,"

Jake gave a light huff end turned around and stared at the wolf, "Look....I just don't know what to think about any of it anymore--it's an ultimatum for us isn't it?"

Lucas paused for a moment to think and then shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know,"

Jake leaned forward and kissed his mate lightly on the lips, "See....that's the problem..."

Lucas sighed and nestled closer to his mate, "Well...I don't want you to be uncomfortable...we don't have to do anything you don't want to do,"

Jake sighed and put an arm around his mate, "It's OK...you have to face up to things eventually,"

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